Books and Shit
by Rainy1
Summary: Karkat and Nepeta happen to have the same interest in books and movies. The two bond over a book that will eventually mean so much more to them as their friendship blooms into something more.
1. Chapter 1

Karkat strode into the small café, the tiny bell chirped livefully, signaling his arrival. He grumbled to himself as he walked up to the counter, ignoring the few people around him enjoying themselves. He ordered his usual Saturday morning coffee, grumbling to himself about the "shitheads who I have to share this fucking small ass room with". His coffee was ready in a matter of minutes, and he grabbed it quickly with a small thanks to the worker. He absentmindedly carried the small cup over to a lonely booth in the corner of the café. He plopped himself down into the fairly sized red chair and began to sip his drink. His coal eyes gazed around the room. Usually, nothing of interest would catch his eye; however, it just so happened that today would be different.

His gaze caught a girl who looked to be about his age. She seemed to be fairly short and she was thin, yet fit and lean. She was wearing a blue cat hat that seemed to fit perfectly over her bouncy autumn hair. Karkat noted the pale freckles that were scattered across her full cheeks. His gazed drew down to the book held loosely in her grasp. His bushy eyebrows rose up as he caught sight of the title. Well fuck, this girl just so happened to be reading one of his favorite novels of all time. It was a great book, and Karkat silently pondered what part of it she was on as he placed his coffee on the table. She seemed to be half way done with it; she might be on the part where the two friends confess their love for each other? No… No, she had to be on the part where they go on their first date. Oh yes, that was a great chapter, he had reread that single chapter multiple times—

"Um… May I help you?"

Karkat was automatically snapped out of his thoughts as the girl spoke up. He blinked multiple times and jumped slightly. She had closed the book now, and was staring uncertainly at him with deep green eyes. Karkat stumbled on his words in embarrassment.

"Um, no, I was just spaced out, that's all."

The girl's small lips curled up slightly, her black lipstick glimmering under the café lights. Karkat bit his lip and mentally scolded himself for thinking of such a stupid excuse.

"Oh, ok! Well then I'm sorry for over reacting; it just looked like you were psychopathic or something!" She responded in-between giggles. Karkat sighed softly and ran his fingers through his dark hair. He had a hard time thinking of a reply, so he just gave her a small, obviously fake smile in reply. She genuinely returned it before turning back to her book. Karkat sighed heavily and turned back to his coffee. The steam no longer arose from the contents, much to his luck. Cold coffee was much hated by Karkat and he groaned under his breath. He stood up in annoyance and grabbed the small cup. He casually tossed it into the nearest trash can. He glanced back at the strange girl. She was still reading, a small tea cup by her side. She had a concerned look on her face, and Karkat knew exactly what part of the book she was on.

"He broke up with her, didn't he?" Karkat spoke up casually. The girl looked up at him, her large eyes illuminated with distress.

"Yes… I can't believe he did too, they were so perfect together! I would have never even guessed!" She cried out. Karkat grinned slightly and blinked a few times, not too sure knowing how to reply… again.

"Yeah, well, I've read it before. Actually, I have a lot of times. It's a really good book, and I think that you're going to like it." Karkat grumbled to her. He watched as her face automatically lit up. Her full cheeks seemed to glow brightly with her large, toothy smile.

"Oh wow!" She squealed in delight, "I can't believe you actually like this book! I've been trying to get my best friend to read it for weeks, but he won't because apparently it's too 'womanly' for him! See, but now I have proof that it's not a girl book because you read it and you love it!" The girl giggled to herself as Karkat started at her with wide eyes.

"Oh, sorry!" She spoke, "I sometimes get a little bit out of hand when I talk. It's not nearly as bad as my sister, though!" She chuckled to herself again and gestured to the vacant seat across from her. "You can sit, if you'd like!"

Karkat bit his lip and pondered if he should take up her offer. This girl seemed like someone who would get on his nerves quickly… Then again, maybe staying here with this odd ball would be better than going home to his horrendous brother…

Karkat quickly pulled up the chair and sat himself down. He was at eye level with the girl now, which he guess wasn't so bad if she would maybe stop smiling.

"I'm Nepeta!" She introduced herself with a bright smile. Karkat wore his frown proudly and grumbled out his reply.

"Karkat."

He watched as her smile got even bigger (was that even fucking possible at this point?).

"Oh wow, that's a really cute name!"

Karkat's face flushed brightly against his milk white skin. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and Nepeta closed her book. He was beginning to question if staying here with this quirky stranger was a good idea after all.

"So, what's your favorite part of the book, Karkat?" She asked him, her long legs swinging gleefully under the table. Karkat raised his eyebrows.

"Obviously, their first date is the best part. It shows just how they truly feel about each other, and that they'd do anything for one another, even if there are so many people against them. It's their lives and they are allowed to do whatever the fuck they want with it. So, they say a big 'fuck you' and love each other." Karkat replied, resting his elbow on the table. Nepeta frowned and tilted her head slightly.

"If they love each other so much, then why did they break up?"

"Sometimes shit happens, and it causes people do things that they may not want to do. This is going to sound dumb and cliché as fuck, but everything happens for a reason. Sometimes things change for good, and sometimes things change for the better, and sometimes, the change wasn't even fucking necessary because things just start right back up again."

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment. The small bell chirped again, signaling the arrival of more visitors. Nepeta sighed softly.

"I never looked at anything that way. You're really smart, Karkat." She complimented him with a small smile. Karkat grunted in reply. He was about to speak when he felt his phone vibrate aggressively from inside of his pocket. He groaned loudly and whipped it out. It was a text message from his brother, asking where he was and that he should have been home an hour ago. Karkat groaned in disbelief and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"Sorry, Nepeta, but I have to go." Nepeta smiled sweetly and pulled out her own phone from her small cat head purse.

"It's alright, but I was wondering if we could exchange phone numbers before you go?" She asked, looking up at him with her deep green eyes. He sighed and nodded. Nepeta's smile widened and she handed him her phone. In somewhat of a rush, Karkat input his number to her contacts and handed the phone back to her.

"Thank you so much, Karkat! I'll be sure to text you later!" Karkat grunted a soft reply before turning towards the exit. He gave her a small wave, which she returned joyfully. Karkat smiled slightly and left the café, the small bell chirping his release.

* * *

"… And furthermore, I most certainly know for a fact that you are aware of the consequences of being out and about when you are not supposed to be. I understand that you are no longer a child, but that still gives you no right to go strolling around like you are invincible, in fact, I know that there have been cases in the past of teens your age getting—"

"Kankri, for the love of fucking _god,_ I was just at the fucking café, like I am every goddamn Saturday morning. I was late to coming home because I was talking with a girl. Do you really have to be so fucking blunt? You're such an asshole; I'm eighteen for fuck's sake! When the hell are you going to get your insufferable dick sucking face out of here so I can finally live on my own for fucks sake?"

Karkat and Kankri were bickering again. It was very normal for the brothers to argue like so, in fact, it happened very often. It usually ended with Karkat telling off his older brother and then retreating to solitude for the rest of the night; and that's exactly what happened. After Karkat's vicious reply, he absconded upstairs and locked himself in the small bathroom that the pair shared. He stared at himself in the mirror with a longing sigh. The dark bags under his eyes shown brightly against his paper white skin, and he frowned at the sight. Karkat lifted up a hand and ran his fingers through his thin charcoal hair. He took note of the natural white of his hair that was ever so slightly beginning to shine through the contrasting black. He made a mental note to himself to pick up more hair dye as he leaned in towards the mirror, his small nose almost bumping the glass. Carefully, he placed his thumb under his eye and his index finger right under his eyebrow so that his dark eye was in between his two fingers. He titled back his head, and, as he does every day, cautiously pulled out his dark contact lense. He blinked a few times as he grumbled profanities under his breath. Karkat made eye contact with his reflection and sighed deeply. The Karkat in the mirror was staring back at him with one eye black as night, and one eye red as blood. He grumbled to himself once again before placing the contact in its container and began to work on removing the other.

Karkat staggered into his room with a throaty yawn. He slammed the door behind him, hoping that it would make Kankri at least flinch, and turned towards his practical home. His room was beginning to get messy, and he made a mental note to himself to clean it when he had the time. Karkat paced towards his untidy bed, his large feet stumbling over dirty clothes and papers. He plopped his body down on his bed and laid there for a moment, closing his bright eyes. After a few minutes of lying limply, he turned himself over and turned his gaze towards his small clock on his nightstand. 9:30pm. He had gotten home at a bit passed eleven in the afternoon, and had successfully managed to avoid his brother's ramblings… well, at least until dinner rolled around. His eyes caught sight of his small phone resting on top of a book that he was reading the other night. He reached for it and snapped it free from its charger. Karkat threw himself back onto his bed, resting against two grey pillows. He flipped open his phone and noticed that he had two new text messages. He raised a thick eyebrow; it was very uncommon for Karkat to get messages, so he opened them with curiosity.

The first message was from his friend Sollux, which Karkat just simply shrugged off and ignored. The second was from a number that he didn't recognize, and he quickly opened it.

_:33 hi karkat! it's nepeta! we met at the café this morning_

Karkat blinked. He didn't expect this girl to actually take the time out of her day to talk to him. She was different and strange, but Karkat still didn't expect it. He frowned slightly and typed up a reply.

_HEY SORRY FOR GETTING BACK TO YOU SO LATE._

Karkat let his phone fall onto his chest as his mouth circled open into a deep yawn. He staggered to his feet, leaving his phone behind on his bed. With another yawn, he tossed off his dark shit and discarded it onto the chair in front of his desk. Karkat stood there, his snowy chest contrasting against the darkness of his room as his eyes pondered the room, searching for some clean pants he could wear to bed. He managed to find a pair of maroon sweat pants, and he quickly removed his grey jeans and replaced them with the more comfortable article of clothing. Now comfortable, Karkat crawled back into his bed, grabbing his phone as he lifted his thin red blanket over his bare chest. He flipped open the screen to reveal yet another reply from Nepeta.

_:33 oh, its fine! How was your day today, karkitten?_

Karkat's nose twitched at just the thought of the nickname "_Karkitten"_. It sounded so…adorable. Something that he most certainly was not! He quickly typed up a reply.

_KARKITTEN? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS. JUST READING THAT BROUGHT CANCER TO MY VERY EXISTANCE._

_:33 h33 h33, sorry but that nickname is here to stay! I cannot pawsibly pass up the opuurtunity to use a nickname like that when someone has such a great name like you do!_

… Are those fucking cat puns? Karkat pushed his eyebrows together and frowned, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

_I HOPE YOU REALIZE THAT I HAD TO READ THAT PUTRID REPLY LIKE FOUR TIMES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FUCK YOU WERE TRYING TO SAY BECAUSE OF YOUR LAME ASS CAT PUNS._

_:33 you better get used to them!_

_I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD BE THREATENED BUT THEN I REMEMBER THAT YOU CALLED ME KARKITTEN SO I CHANGED MY MIND._

_:33 oh believe me, you have efurry right to feel threatened! H33 h33!_

…

_:33 karkat?_

Karkat's gentle snoring echoed throughout his small room as his phone plopped out of his limp hand and onto the floor. It buzzed one last time for the night.

_:33 good night karkitten! Sweet dreams!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Finally, the long awaited second chapter!**

**I apologize for not updating sooner! I update pretty slowly, but I won't abandon this story, I promise.**

* * *

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Karkat's red eyes darted open, thin veins connecting themselves to his iris. He groaned loudly and turned his attention towards his clock, which was his good morning greeting. He closed his eyes and slammed the alarm off. Karkat flipped over in bed with a deep sigh. The young adult laid there for a moment, breathing softly. After a moment, he sat up, the thin red blanket sliding off of his snow chest. He grunted out a deep yawn and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before turning his attention back to the clock. It read 9:45. Great, it looks like Kankri decided to be a douche and set his alarm. Speaking of the devil, Karkat's gaze caught sight of a small note tucked neatly under his clock. With an over exaggerated roll of the eyes, Karkat grabbed it.

_G99d m6rning, br9ther._

_I did y9u quite a large fav9r 6y setting y9ur alarm for 9:45am sharp; y9ur r99m really needs a th9r9ugh cleaning, which I'd like y9u to take care 0f t9day, if y9u will! I have supplied y9u with 6read and jam in the kitchen f9r when y9u decide t9 feed y9urself. I'll be 9ut f9r a few h9urs to run some errands. Please, try n9t t9 6urn d9wn the h9use._

_~ Kankri_

Karkat rolled his bright eyes once again before crumbling up the paper into a crumpled ball. He stood up with a small yawn and walked himself towards his door, discarding the note into the trashbin on his way out. He flung open his bedroom door, instantly being greeted by a rush of cold air. Karkat usually kept his room warm, as he preferred heat over cold. He grumbled profanities to himself as he trudged down the stairs, his sweaty hand sliding down the rail as he walked. He paced over towards the kitchen and instantly caught sight of a bag of bread seated contently next to half a jar of jam. As Karkat placed the bread into the toaster, he dug his hand into the pocket of his sweatpants. He froze for a moment before remembering that he had fallen asleep while texting Nepeta. With a groan, he climbed back up the stairs to retrieve the device.

Karkat bit into his toast greedily, swinging a leg contently under the clean table. He munched with a hint of force and flipped up his phone cover. A bushy eyebrow rose. Once again, he had two unread messages. He jabbed the button with a short finger and read.

_:33 good night karkitten! Sweet dreams!_

He lashed into his toast again as his face lit up with embarrassment.

_HEY, NEP, SORRY ABOUT LAST NIGHT. I GUESS I FELL ASLEEP._

Karkat sent the reply and turned his attention to the next message. He snickered as his eyes traced over the name.

_hey a22hole how about you get your diick 2uckiing a22 out of your hou2e and go out wiith your friiend2 for once_

Karkat swallowed the final bit of toast and wiped the crumbs from his hands onto his pants. He pondered a thought for a moment before replying.

_MAYBE. COULD I BRING SOMEONE?_

He instantly regretted asking just as soon as the pathetic question was sent. He cursed himself and stood up, deciding that it would be best to get dressed and ready for the day. He descended up the stairs, his phone held tightly in his grasp. It rattled in his hand just as he reached his bedroom door, and he opened the message without hesitation.

_awww, kk that2 2weet that you want two briing your boyfriiend two meet your friiend2_

Karkat rolled his eyes in annoyance as he flung open the door, a rush of warm air slamming against his bare chest. He paced in, trying to avoid the mess of his floor. He decided that he would clean it later.

_WOW SOLLUX THAT WAS HILARIOUS. IN FACT, I'M PRETTY SURE I JUST BUSTED A LUNG LAUGHING AT HOW AMAZINGLY HILARIOUS THAT COMMENT WAS WOW YOU HAVE SO MUCH POTENTIONAL. I HAVE TO TALK TO HER ABOUT IT, BUT I'LL MEET YOU AT YOUR HOUSE LATER_

Karkat sent the rather long message and tossed his phone onto his disordered bed. He turned around and dug through his closet, pulling out a black turtle neck sweater. His fingers softly traced the cancer symbol stitched onto the bottom of it. He grumbled in approval and tossed the garment onto his bed. He found a clean pair of dark grey jeans and tossed those aside as well. He began changing; glancing at his phone every so often just in case Nepeta happened to text back yet. The young man tossed himself onto his bed and glanced at the clock. It was barely eleven. With an obnoxious groan of annoyance, Karkat flung with head back onto his plump pillows just as his phone vibrated loudly. He hurriedly snatched his phone and read his new message.

_:33 sorry karkitten, I had class!_

Karkat smirked with curiosity as he sat up on his bed and slouched over the edge.

_CLASS?_

_:33 yes, silly! I go to the local art school. Its about20 minutes away furrom the café._

Karkat grinned excitedly. She wasn't too far from his house, it would take about half an hour to walk over there, but it would definitely be worth it…

_HOW ABOUT I WALK MY ASS OVER THERE, PICK YOU UP, AND YOU AND I CAN SPEND THE DAY WITH THE ASSFUCKS I DEEM FRIENDS_

The boy felt his stomach twist up in knots as the message sent. What if she says no? What if she's too busy?

"Why do I care so much?" He pondered aloud with a look of disgust plastered against his pale face. Before he could mentally argue with himself further, a rumble from his phone instantly grabbed his attention.

_:33 I'd love that, thank you! I'd have to be home by 8pm though, if that's alright! I have class early in the morning tomorrow_

Karkat couldn't help but smile widely. He excitedly stood up and began pacing towards his bathroom to make himself presentable.

_I HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOURE GETTING YOURSELF INTO. I'LL SEE YA SOON._

* * *

Karkat fond himself in a hurry as he dashed out of his small home, but not before leaving a note addressed to his brother concerning his whereabouts. The young man walked quickly, ignoring the few people strolling the streets besides him. His mind was wrapped tightly around Nepeta. She was a nice girl. They shared a few common interests… She was also cute.

Karkat shook his head with annoyance as he tried to dispose of the thought. No, girls were out of the question ever since his past romance went downhill… She was a great girl too. They had their differences, she teased him a lot and he responded with barbaric phrases… They were perfect. He really did love her, as much as he'd like to deny it now. Unfortunately, the universe hates the boy, and their relationship ended in heartbreak. The pair are still friends though, close friends in fact. Alas, Karkat would sometimes still catch himself thinking about her romantically, much to his frustration and dislike.

Karkat walked faster down the sidewalk, grumbling and cursing to himself for thinking so much about things so petty. Relationships are nothing but trouble, and Karkat certainly didn't need any more of that! The boy's thoughts became distracted as he approached the college campus. It was fairly sized with lovely greenery to greet visitors and students. His eyes scanned the view until he caught sight of his target. Nepeta was sitting on a bench swinging her legs and talking to a rather… strong looking man next to her. The man made Karkat feel uncomfortable, and his stomach twisted up awkwardly as he approached the pair. Nepeta was the first to catch sight of her friend.

"Oh, Karkitty, you're here! That was fast!" She exclaimed as she threw herself to her feet. Her signature blue cat hat was placed perfectly on top of her bouncy autumn locks, and her round face was glimmering with glee. She was wearing a mint green tank top with a pure white heart stitched flawlessly into it, and her short shorts showed off her tan, fit legs wonderfully. Karkat caught himself blushing and felt uncomfortably flustered. He simply grunted in reply and awkwardly clawed at the back of his head, mentally cursing himself for being such an idiot.

"This is my best friend, Equius! Equius, this is the guy I've been telling you about!"

Karkat felt even more vulnerable as the man stood up. For one, he was at least six feet tall, which was embarrassing, compared to Karkat's five foot five. Secondly, this man was downright _huge._ Karkat had no idea why such a threatening looking man was best friends with a small, innocent looking girl like Nepeta. Karkat blushed a light tint of pink against his chalk white skin and placed his masked black eyes upon the man in question.

"Hello, Karkat." The shorter boy's nostrils flared anxiously at the sound of the taller man's voice. It was very deep and husky, and made Karkat self conscious about his own voice, "I have heard quite the mouthful about you from Nepeta. I trust that you'll take care of her during the hours that you both spend together, yes?"

Karkat felt incredibly threatened at this point. He managed to muster out a soft "yeah" and kick the dirt in embarrassment. Before things could get anymore awkward, Nepeta spoke up.

"We better get going!" The small girl turned around to face her friend and flung her arms around him. Equius returned the gesture with a content smile on his lips.

"Be sure to text me if you run into trouble. Be safe." He spoke to her, his gaze fixed on Karkat through his cracked glasses. Nepeta giggled affectionately and broke the gesture.

"Don't be such a worry wart! I'll be fine!" She replied with a chuckle. Equius simply gave a nod, and the girl turned around towards her friend.

"Come on, Karkat!" She flashed him a toothy smile and began walking out of the campus, a slight skip in her step. Karkat followed suit in silence, still embarrassed by the encounter with Equius. Nepeta seemed to have sensed the boy's nervousness, because after a moment of silent strolling, she spoke up.

"Don't be afraid of Equius, he's not as tough as he looks!" She explained with a heart warming smile. Karkat chewed on his lip in reply and walked down the cross walk with Nepeta steady by his side.

"So, do you go to school too?" The young woman asked, unamused by the semi awkward silence. Karkat sighed deeply as his face flushed again.

"Actually, I uh, dropped out of high school."

"What!" Nepeta exclaimed loudly with shock. The pale boy rolled his eyes in annoyance and shot the shorter girl a glare.

"Oh calm the fuck down, it's not a big deal." He hissed. Nepeta's face sank and she fiddled with her long finger nails in shame. Karkat rolled his night sky eyes once again.

"Sorry, I just don't like talking about that shit, okay? It's not like I haven't ruined anything else in my life." He explained with an exaggerated frown. Nepeta looked up at him and furrowed her thin eyebrows.

"Don't talk like that! I'm sure there have been good things in your life! You're such a nice guy!"

Karkat held his tongue at the compliment. He wasn't used to getting this kind of attention and it was making him uncomfortable. Much to his luck, the pair was approaching his friend's apartment complex, and he used this as an escape route. He remained silent as the two made their way over to the gate. After a few more awkward moments passed, Karkat successfully led his friend to the destination. They stood in front of the door, Nepeta's heart racing with excitement.

"Just a warning, my friends are douchebags." Karkat spoke calmly. Nepeta's stomach dropped with nervousness, and she was about to comment until her friend began banging his fist against the door.

"Hey dickwads, open up!" He hollered, making Nepeta's light eyes widen with surprise. Why does he talk to his friends like that?

"The door's open, princess!" A voice screeched from the other side. It sounded raspy, and Nepeta was sure that she caught note of a lisp on the s'. Karkat grunted with amusement and flung open the door. The two were instantly greeted by a cluttered mess of debris and a pile of late teens spread on the couch. They were playing video games, and by the looks of it, were really engrossed in it. Out of the three beings on the couch, only one of them turned their head towards the newcomers.

"Welcome back, best friend!" He greeted in a rather intimidating voice. Nepeta felt very outcasted and unwelcome. These people weren't like her friends at all… And was that weed she smelt?

"Come on guys, turn off that fucking game, I brought company." Karkat yelled over the noise. The sound of the TV was muted as the video game was paused. The three teens stood up, and Nepeta instantly regretted agreeing to this. The one that had caught her eye was taller than Equius, despite being was slouched over. He looked sickly thin and had droopy, blood shot eyes which were barely visible under his shaggy mass of dark brown hair. Unfortunately, this atrocious mess of a man was the first to greet little Nepeta.

"Hey there, little motherfucker." He called happily. Nepeta nervously attached herself to Karkat's arm, causing the boy to jump slightly in surprise.

"Goddamn it, Gamzee, stop being such a fucking creep." The loud mouthed boy defended. Karkat's remarked seemed to not have affected the lanky boy, as his dopey grin was still seated on his thin lips.

"Don't worry about him; he's even more of an idiot than that dick sucker you're attached to." The lisped voice exclaimed. Nepeta tossed her gaze over towards the speaker and felt her nervousness shimmer down slightly. This boy seemed fairly normal. He was about a head taller than Karkat, had neatly parted black hair, and was wearing what seemed to be… 3D glasses?

"I'm Sollux, and these pricks are Terezi and Gamzee."

Nepeta turned her gaze over towards the final being in the room. She had a large smile plastered across her long face that seemed to inch wider and wider every second. Her hair was dyed flame red, and she had a pair of candy red glasses seated softly on top of her pointed nose.

"You smell delicious!" She screeched at Nepeta. The girl caught herself clinging closer to Karkat as the other female glided over towards the shorter girl. Karkat pushed the red head back with a loud groan.

"Leave her alone, Terezi, you assdicks already freaked her out." Karkat countered aggressively. Nepeta expected Terezi to be offended by his remark, but instead she let out the loudest, most terrifying, ear rippling laughter that Nepeta has ever heard.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Karkles!" She screeched in between laughter. Nepeta noted the red glare of braces lined up in the girl's mouth. She seemed to have teeth growing behind her front ones, and her mouth was very cluttered and unorganized. Nepeta was about done by now.

"I'm going to step outside…" She whispered faintly. Before Karkat could argue against her, the small girl released herself from his arm and padded out the front door.

"Oh no guys, we scared KK's girlfriend away." Sollux responded sarcastically. Terezi let out a gut wrenching cackle and Gamzee glared at her with disgust.

"Would you shut your goddamn yap already, bitch?" He screamed at her. The girl instantly stops laughing and raises a thin eyebrow. She inches near his lanky face and stand on her tip toes until the two were inches apart. Then, she opened her mouth and laughed loudly right in the boy's face. Gamzee groans in annoyance, and before you know it, the two are screaming at each other with Sollux smirking from his couch and Karkat staring at them in disbelief.

"Are you fucking serious? Please, tell me that I've died and went to hell." Karkat began, his voice rattling with anger. The trio instantly shut up and looked over towards their friend who was fuming with rage, "The one fucking time I decide to bring a girl over, you assholes do what you do best and you fucking scare her away. God fucking damn it, someone remind me again why I hang out with a pack of pretentious douches."

Before one of the three could make a witty remark, the shortest boy headed outside to retrieve Nepeta, but not before slamming the front door in anger.

Universe one, Karkat zero.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I uploaded this so late, I haven't had internet for a month.**

* * *

Karkat felt bad. Deep down, he knew it. He fucking knew that bringing Nepeta to his friend's house was a terrible idea and that it'd only smack him back in the face. His dumbass dragged a girl he just met to meet his less than normal friends, and now she had locked herself outside. He prepared for the worse as he approached the tanned girl sheepishly. She was standing on the balcony, leaning over the dirty, dark rail with her phone in her grasp. Karkat stood besides her and rested his elbows on the bar.

"Hey, sorry about them, I knew that this was a bad idea…" Karkat began while mentally throwing profanities at himself. To his surprise, Nepeta chuckled and shook her head.

"It's fine, Karkat! It wasn't your fault, don't worry about it."

The pair stood wrapped in awkward silence for a moment. The boy still felt guilty and he averted his gaze towards the ground, silently scolding himself for being such an idiot.

"If for some crazy ass and completely unbelievable reason you'd still want to spend the day with me, we could go back to my house and… I dunno, watch a movie or something?" He suggested, his voice flat with self hatred. Nepeta pondered the offer for a second, batting her long eyelashes in thought.

"What kind of movies do you have?" She questioned, a slight purr in her tone. Karkat couldn't resist the grin tugging on one end of his mouth.

"The 'womanly' kind, as you oh so subtly put it yesterday." He replied, looking up at her with kind, coal eyes. The girl giggled and put her small hand up to her mouth.

"Those are my favorite." She purred in return. Karkat felt his guilt wash off of his stubby body and he smiled with pride.

"Well, we better go before my shit-dick of a brother beats us there." He explained. Nepeta gave him a small smile, and the pair absconded down the cemented steps of the apartment place, but not before Karkat shot a glare at his trio of friends, who were eagerly pressing their faces against the window during the conversation between the pair.

* * *

"Karkat, you have such a lovely home!" Nepeta gushed in awe as the boy in question closed the front door behind them.

"It's not _that_ great." He corrected, gazing the room for his brother's messenger bag. Thankfully, the item was not around, which meant that Kankri was still at work. Karkat smiled with approval and led Nepeta into his kitchen. She gazed the room with bright eyes; her interest obviously peeked by the fancy, clean interior.

"I hope you aren't one of the rare dickwads who hates M&Ms." Karkat's voiced called from his pantry. He whipped around, two packets of the candy in hand.

"Since this is the only candy my pretentious douche face of a brother will eat, this is all we have." The teen explained as he tossed the bags onto the wooden table and buried his face into the refrigerator.

"What do you want to drink?" He asked with a turn of the head, his soft hair caressing his thick eyebrows. His guest shrugged her shoulders with a small laugh.

"I don't really have a preference." She replied in her stupid cat dialect. Karkat grimaced for a spilt second at the sound of _"fur"_ replacing the _"fer"_.

"Cola it is, then." He settled, grabbing two cans and slamming the door with his foot. He reached for the candy, but failed miserably as the two cans fell from his grip and onto the floor.

"Shit…" He grumbled with a distinct eye roll and knelt down to pick up the debris. One can survived the crash; however the second was dented and had opened, spilling the caffeinated liquid all over the white tiled floor. Karkat breathed out a rainbow of profanities and prepared himself to stand up, until the unexpected body of Nepeta plopped herself besides him and began to furiously scrub at the mess with a wet sponge. The job was complete in a matter of seconds, and the boy was still left in shock.

"Goddamn, you really didn't have to clean up the mess that I made in my own house, Nep." He said as he watched his friend dispose of the dented can and peer into the fridge to grab a new one.

"Oh hush, Karkitten, you needed help or else you would've imagined a whole new vocabulary of curse words on the spot." She teased with a playful smile. Karkat grunted out a reply and reached for the undamaged soda can. Nepeta's swift hand beat the boy to it, and he looked up to be met with her toothy smile.

"You carry the candy; I'll handle the mean old soda cans." She giggled. Karkat raised his bushy eyebrows and swiped the bags off of the table.

"Har-har, Nepeta, you're so fucking hilarious I seemed to have busted a gut laughing at how witty you are." He teased back. The girl simply let out a soft strand of laughter and followed her friend into his living room. He tossed the bags of sugar onto the coffee table in front of the milk white couch and Nepeta followed suit with the cans. She plopped herself down onto the soft cushions of the furniture as Karkat rummaged through his DVDs that were seated unorganized under the TV. Suddenly Nepeta squealed, causing her friend to briskly shoot his head towards her in worry.

"Was that _Juno_ I saw in there?" She squealed. Karkat hesitantly reached for the DVD in question and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"… This piece of dog shit?"

"Hey, it's a cute movie! My sister and I love it!"

Karkat looked at her dully, his eyelids half way over his black eyes with unamusement.

"There's no way I'm sitting through an hour and a half of this under developed screw up of humanity _again_." He spoke sharply. Nepeta squirmed in her seat.

"Stop insulting it! It's a great movie, please?" She begged, her fit legs swinging childishly.

"No."

"Yes!"

"Not a chance."

"But Karkat—"

"No."

The boy looked up from the movie's case to view Nepeta, her green eyes large and her lip pouted and quivering.

"Nepeta what the fuck, we're both eighteen. What do you even expect to accomplish with that besides looking like something crawled into your ass."

The insult flew over the girl's head as she continued pouting. Karkat was getting sick of this act quickly and… Are those _tears_?

"Fine!" The boy groaned, "But that idiotic guilt tripping act won't work again, fuck you very much."

Nepeta's expression instantly transformed into one of child-like happiness. She gave her friend a large smile in appreciation as he installed the DVD, muttering to himself about "the twat who came up with that dick sucking acting trick". With a final grumble, Karkat snatched the remote off of his carpeted floor and turned off the light, although that didn't make much of a difference considering it was three in the afternoon. He padded over towards Nepeta, who was eagerly waiting his arrival with the bag of candy in hand. Almost immediately after the boy sat down, Nepeta sparked up an unwanted question.

"Why do you dye your hair?"

Karkat practically jumped out of his seat. He tried to mask his surprise by glaring sharply at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He countered coldly, feeling very vulnerable. Nepeta was taken back by his action and tone of voice, and quickly tried to redeem herself as the trailers for other movies played in the background.

"It's not a bad thing, Karkat. I was just wondering. Do you not like the color? Is black your favorite color because you sure do wear a lot of it." She giggled, trying to liven up the mood. Her subject, however was not pleased.

"Just shut up and watch the goddamn movie."

* * *

Four bags of candy and three cans of soda later, both teens were engrossed in the climax of the movie. Nepeta was staring hopefully at the TV, while Karkat looked disgusted, his arm drapped over the back of the couch.

"Every man in this movie is brain dead, I swear to fuck." He commented darkly. Nepeta tried to think of a way to defend her beloved film, but it proved difficult considering Karkat was somewhat correct… Then again, most of the characters could've made better life decisions. Nepeta had experienced that a year ago when her sister almost went deaf due to her newly converted Satanist boyfriend. Nepeta shivered at the thought of him. He used to be such a sweetheart and Nepeta enjoyed his company. But he took his religion very seriously and it frightened Nepeta and she couldn't understand why on Earth her sister still loves him and why they're still together.

The girl's thoughts were prematurely severed by the sound of the front door unlocking. She heard Karkat grumble a few curse words under his breath, and she felt nervous. The door swung opened, revealing who Nepeta could only guess was Karkat's infamous brother. The boys resembled each other quite well; however Karkat was shorter and had a much lighter skin tone. Karkat's brother entered his home, a look of confusion and disbelief painted on his face. Nepeta found herself admiring his well groomed, light blonde hair and his style of dress, which consisted of a white, long sleeved button down with a bright red tie and khakis.

"Karkat Vantas," Nepeta's nose twitched at the sound of his voice, "What have I told you about having members of the female gender in our home alone with you without my consent? I thought that we had this settled after I caught you and Terezi inappropriately locking lips on your bed! Good lord, child, how many—"

"Kankri, goddamn it, obviously it's not like I'm fucking her or anything!" Karkat barked at his sibling as he leapt off of the couch, his face hot with embarrassment. Nepeta awkwardly stayed seated, biting her lip in dismay.

"How many times have I told you to not include those vulgar phrases into your vocabulary? I would expect you to be much more mature by now, but of course you prove me wrong daily! How do you think our parents would feel if they knew how you were behaving?"

"Well obviously, they wouldn't fucking care since they didn't even care enough to fucking do their jobs as parents and stick around for their 'beloved' sons! You can't keep pulling that fucking card when _mommy_ and _daddy_ don't even acknowledge our fucking existence anymore ever since their choice to leave us here so we can scream our brains out at each other whenever I fuck up, which happens to be often considering how much of a fucking asshole I am!" Karkat ranted, his voice shaky and strained. His argument seemed to have silenced Kankri. The older Vantas sighed deeply and casted his gaze onto Nepeta apologetically.

"Please take your guest back to her own living quarters. We will discuss the matter further when you return home."

The tread back to Nepeta's apartment was masked with awkward silence. Neither of them wanted to speak up. Nepeta felt terrible. She was a burden today, and she caused a fight between brothers, which resulted in family problems resurfacing. Karkat, on the other hand, was mentally scolding himself yet again. Thankfully, the silent pair finally reached Nepeta's small apartment.

"I'll talk to you later…" Nepeta whispered, wondering if she should apologize or not.

"I'm sorry for fucking the day up." He beat her to it with a gruff sigh. Nepeta felt her heart tingle in her chest.

"It's not your fault, Karkitty. Not every terrible thing is your fault." She explained softly. The boy had no response, and so Nepeta did the only logical thing that she could think of. She swiftly wrapped her lean arms around him in a hug and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Much to her surprise, her friend returned the embrace almost instantly. Nepeta and Karkat froze in their moment for a while before they broke off simultaneously. The only departure signature needed was a genuine smile, and one in return, and that's exactly what they gave each other.


End file.
